Legislator airs red-light alert

Madden rallies support for cameras at traffic signals

Almost 19 percent of the 32 traffic fatalities in Lubbock last year can be attributed to motorists running red lights and causing collisions, according to police statistics.

Jerry Madden, a Republican state representative from Plano, visited Lubbock on Tuesday to rally support in the fight against red-light runners.

The main weapon in Madden's battle is a piece of legislation he helped author. But the measure was tabled in last year's legislative session. He told members of the Citizens Traffic Commission that he hopes to build support for the bill by the time the 77th Legislature meets in 2001.

Madden's bill calls for cameras to be mounted on traffic signals to photograph the rear of vehicles running red lights. A citation would be sent to the owner of the vehicle.

The bill, however, was thwarted by concerns about invading the privacy of motorists and the possibility that offenders may not own the photographed vehicles, Madden said.

Amendments to the original bill were suggested, such as imposing a $10 maximum fine and having cities erect signs that would say "Big Brother is watching you."

"They (vehicle owners) should know who is driving their car," Madden said.

Last year, Lubbock police issued about 1,700 tickets to drivers for running red lights. The maximum fine for such a ticket, by state law, is $200, said city municipal court Judge Robert Doty.

"I think it's good legislation," Madden said of his bill. "I think it's a good thing to try to make the roads and highways safer."

He said his proposal calls for still cameras at traffic signals, not video cameras.

Nurses training at Dallas' Presbyterian Hospital set up a camera at a major intersection near the hospital where they saw a large occurrence of red-light running.

"They were saying it happens almost every (traffic) cycle," Madden said.

A fatal accident about a half-mile from his home occurred because the driver of a gravel loader ran a red light and struck another vehicle, Madden said.

During the commission meeting, a city-produced video was shown with images of playing children and wreck scenes backed by the song "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan. The messages of the video were "crashes are not accidents" and "stop the madness."

Commission chairwoman Anna Jenkin, moved by the piece, encouraged public support for legislation that could hopefully prevent red-light running.

"I think it's time to get involved," said Jenkin, her voice trembling. "Why wait until something like this happens again? We're all sitting here waiting for something like this to happen again."

Doty said, "It was disheartening to me, as an individual, to see this bill shot down. As a private citizen, I am for this legislation."

He said the bill encourages people to take responsibility for their own actions.

Doty said parking citations can be issued to vehicle owners, no matter who was responsible for the offense and that the parents of a juvenile violating curfew can be given a ticket for that offense.

He said the privacy issue shouldn't come into play, especially on events that occur outside one's household.

Madden said cities can recoup the costs of buying and leasing the camera equipment from fines issued for red-light violations.